To love and lament
by Elrenia daughter of Elrohir
Summary: -WIP- LegolasOC and EldarionOC. War has come again to Middle-Earth, but there is no fellowship to save the day. So the Valar have to improvise!
1. Is water always this agressive?

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to someone else. In other words, everyone but Jess belongs to themselves. Oh, and Mrs Gilmartain is mine but borrowed my Grandma's name. My grandma doesn't even like horses! Oh, also, Rupert belongs to himself, as do Meghan and Maddy.  
  
~  
  
Chapter 1 - Run Rupert!  
  
"You've got to be kidding!" Meghan McCarthy stared in disbelief at her riding instructor. "The stables are closing? But...there must be something we can do. What about Major...And Rupert. Where will they go?"  
  
"They'll have to be sold I'm afraid. I just can't afford to keep the stables open anymore."  
  
"But..." Meghan looked, and felt, devastated. The horses were her life. She didn't know how she'd get through every boring school day without the promise of Rupert to greet her. "I'm sorry Meghan." Mrs. Gilmartain's soft voice cut through her thoughts. "Tell you what. Go find Maddy and take some of the horses out for a ride." Dumbly, Meghan nodded and walked across the yard to find her sister.  
  
"Hey Megs!" Maddy called cheerfully from outside the tack room. "Are you okay? You look upset."  
  
"They're closing the stables!" Meghan burst out. "No!" gasped Maddy. "They can't!"  
  
"They can," stated Jess, the stable hand, coming out of Jaspers stall. "I've lost my job." She informed them with a sigh. She ran her hand through her short brown hair. "Oh Jess, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Meghan. "I hadn't thought of that."  
  
"Don't worry about it." she said, smiling. "I know you're upset. Are we going for a ride now?"  
  
"Yeah, guess so," said Meghan without enthusiasm. "My, is this Meghan losing her touch?" teased Jess. "I knew a time when nothing would get you down. Cheer up and tack up the horses. You're making them depressed." Meghan glanced at Rupert and grinned. "Okay," she pulled Maddy up from her seat on the hay bale and started toward the stalls. "Lets go and get Tara and Rupert.  
  
20 minutes later the three set off. Meghan rode Rupert, a chestnut yearling with a black mane. Maddy rode a few steps behind on a gentle bay called Tara. Slightly ahead of the other two rode Jess, mounted on a fiery grey mare, Silver. It wasn't long before they found the turn in the road signalling the way to the lake. They turned off the path and headed towards the lake. Soon though, all three horses were prancing nervously. The riders exchanged confused glances and dismounted. They led the horses to the lake and set them lose. The horses wandered into the lake for a much earned drink. The girls sat on the bank to talk. "Why do you think they were so skittish?" asked Maddy. "Dunno," replied Jess. "Perhaps they know they're leaving." Their conversation stopped abruptly at a shrill whinny from Tara.  
  
"Tara!" yelled Maddy, seeing her favourite horse disappear into a swirling vortex of water. The friends lunged in after their horses, and dived deeply down as the cold blue liquid closed over their heads.  
  
~  
  
Well? What d'ya think? Anyone who has info on horses they think I could use are welcome to tell me in a review. I don't know that much about them. So anyway, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Namarie. 


	2. The white city

Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to anyone else. So you can work out for yourself who I do and don't own.  
  
Many MANY thanks to the 7 reviewers. Lets see, Celebrindal, thank you for continuously reading my stories, and taking the time to review me. Xing@fanfiction.net, I know almost nothing about horses. Rupert is meant to be based on the real Rupert, who Megs assures me would NOT behave, and Baringa from Silver brumbies of the south by Elyne Mitchell. To everyone else, I'll try to make my chapters longer, but it's not a promise, and I like to build my characters up throughout the story, so just bear with me. Anyway, keep reading and all reviews are appreciated.  
  
Notes on the chapter: All orcs talking are in the black speech, but I don't speak orc. All the fellowship but Gandalf and Legolas are dead. Gandalf is in Valinor and has come to the halls of Mandos to watch over Legolas with everyone else for a bit. Don't ask how, my ideas are complicated.  
  
Chapter 2 - The white city  
  
The dunlendings and orcs swarmed around the walls of Minas Tirith. The sky darkened as the son of Aragorn and a single elf stood above the gates.  
  
"It'll be alright Eldarion." The elf said reassuringly. "These walls have held against much worse and the gates will not fall." He looked sad for a moment. "Gimli made sure of that."  
  
Eldarion looked at him sadly. He knew the death of Gimli the dwarf, so soon after his fathers, had been very hard on Legolas. They had been such good friends. Their attention was drawn back to the gates however, as they shook once again under the force of the battering ram.  
  
"Worry not Eldarion," said Legolas again. "The white city shall not fall." Far away in the halls of Mandos, the fellowship of the ring smiled as Legolas echoed the words of Aragorn Elessar, so long ago.  
  
*flashback*  
  
Boromir sat with his back to a tree, dying. He struggled to speak.  
  
"Farewell Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed."  
  
"No!" said Aragorn, taking his hand and kissing his brow. "You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace! Minas Tirith shall not fall!"  
  
*end flashback*  
  
The fellowship settled back with a collective sigh and gazed once again into the swirling depths of a palantir. Across a vast expanse of land and water, a battle raged. But as the first shards of light pierced the dark sky, the enemy retreated.  
  
"What happens?" asked Eldarion. "Is it TRAP?"  
  
"The enemy seeks shelter." Replied Legolas. "Orcs have no love of the light." Eldarion nodded. "They are beyond the range of our archers," he observed. " Yes," agreed Legolas. Then he smiled. "Your archers..."  
  
"Are we out of range?"  
  
"Aye captain." The orc general growled. "No man could shoot us now." They fell into darkness as dawn came. The sun rose slowly, glinting off the golden hair of a lone soldier. "Who is it?" the orc captain hissed. "I know not." The general replied. "Just some soldier come to see the sun rise, no doubt." They watched the figure raise a longbow and could only stare, horrified, at the orc lying dead beside them. An arrow pierced his throat.  
  
"You said we were out of range!" snarled the captain. "No," replied the general, his voice quivering. "That is no man. Some fell creature that existed long before us."  
  
"Correct." The clear lilting voice carried clearly on the wind. "I am Legolas, last of the elves."  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Keep doing so. I will probably be a while before I get the next chapter up but I'll try. I know I'm not saying much about the characters at the moment, and that I'm flitting between Valinor, Middle Earth and Earth but that's my style so can you put up with it for a bit please. This is also my first attempt at romance and it's not easy. So anyway, please review ( I'm aiming for 15 )! 


	3. Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. Jess and Caralimer belongs to me. Everyone not in LotR belongs to themselves.  
  
Chapter 3-Meetings  
  
Meghan gripped Rupert's bridle tightly as he surged out of the water. She collapsed on the ground beside her friends.  
  
"Megs, thank God." Gasped Maddie. "We thought we'd lost you." Megahn hadn't yet caught her breath enough to answer so just nodded at her sister. Maddie's long blond hair was tangled and darkened with mud. Her hazel eyes shut in weariness. Jess didn't look much better. Her thick brown hair was hopelessly knotted and her large grey eyes watered slightly. Apparently her contacts had come out in the water. She ignored all this however and immediately rose to check the horses over.  
  
"We need help." She said once she was satisfied the horses would be okay. "Rupert's caught his side on a rock or something. There's not much blood but he needs checking over anyway. Are you both okay?" Her friends nodded. So it was that, in great discomfort, the bedraggled group took the bridles of their respective horses and set off in a random direction, after coming to the mutual conclusion that they must have been washed downstream and no-one had a clue where they were.  
  
They were lucky, in more than one respect. For one thing, they were on the side of the river closest to what looked like a medieval city. Kind of like Camelot would have looked like, Meghan thought. The second good thing to occur was that the soon met help.  
  
"Who are you and what is your business in these lands?" Jess squealed as she came face to face with a sword. With her worsened eyesight she had not noticed anyone approaching.  
  
"Err, we nearly drowned here?" offered Maddie from behind her. The man seemed to soften slightly. Very slightly.  
  
"You fell in Anduin?"  
  
"Erm, suppose so." Maddie seemed glad that they'd met anyone.  
  
"Come then." Said the man, leading them away. "I will have your horses stabled and you shall be given a room and new clothes, as long as the King approves of course." The girls were too wet and tired to object, even if they had wanted to.  
  
As they walked, leading the horses behind them, they talked quietly.  
  
"So where are we?" asked Maddie.  
  
"No idea!" responded Jess, less than cheerfully. "Anduin sounds familiar though." She added.  
  
"And they sent Boromir down anduin to the falls of Rauros." Intoned Meghan. "Oh God."  
  
"What?" asked Jess.  
  
"Ohnoohnooh." Mumbles Maddie, catching on. (A/N. Not a typo, she's saying it really fast.) "D'you remember that lass who claimed to have gone to Middle Earth around 3 months ago? Came wondering into the stables and asked where Caralimer was?"  
  
"Uh huh. Oh!" Jess' eyes went wide as she grasped the meaning of this sentence. "We're in Middle Earth?"  
  
"Yup." Confirmed Meghan. "I think so anyway. Let me just check. Sir?" she called to their guide.  
  
"Yes, he asked, turning.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Gondor, my lady."  
  
"Yes, we're definitely in Middle Earth."  
  
"There could be loads of places called Gondor in the World." Jess pointed out.  
  
"What about worldwise?" asked Maddie. The man gave them a funny look.  
  
"Middle Earth." The girls looked at each other.  
  
"Do you remember nothing about our world?" he asked with concern.  
  
"We aren't from this world." Meghan told him. He didn't appear fazed by this information. He'd seen it last time with Gandalf. He knew there was the occasional rip in the time-space continuem. They must have fallen through. Or possibly been called through for a reason.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. "You seem much more a part of this world than the last person. Apart from your strange attire."  
  
"Certain," replied Meghan. "So, who are you?" 


End file.
